Castle Forbes lavender: problem with technique?

[orki]

Recently started with Castle Forbes lavender cream, but I must be doing something wrong. Please help me identify the problem. I am using a Rockwell 6C on the R5 plate with Personna Blues, a Yaqi synthetic brush and a travel dog bowl with nubs for bowl lathering. This combination has worked well with Proraso white, AoS peppermint, Pink Woolf Oceanic Blue soap, Godrej red, and a couple of others I don't remember.

Day 1: Following recommendations here, I added a little extra water, but it led to a slightly runny texture even after lathering in the bowl for 2 minutes. Tried it, but the razor started skipping. Very poor shave and I gave up after two passes.

Day 2: Very careful bowl lathering with a slow addition of water. Initially very thick (too thick) lather, but eventually settled to a very nice thick yoghurt consistency after 2 minutes. Felt good applying it to my face, but the razor started skipping again, on all three passes. Had to be very careful with stretching the skin to avoid nicks. The alum block at the end of the shave indicated irritation pretty much everywhere.

I have had good success all most soaps and creams that I have tried. This highly rated (and the most expensive one that I have tried) seems to be the first one to give me serious trouble. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Steve56]

Here’s a couple of suggestions. CF is very concentrated, you don’t need much at least in normal bowls. About 1/2g - the size of a large pea or half of a small almond. If your brush is large, say >24mm you might need a little more.

The pet bowl with nubs makes a different lather, quite excellent in most cases but SMN is sensitive to water using that bowl, a little too much and the lather collapses. Try a normal bowl.

Good luck!

 

[Atlantic59]

You do not say how much cream you are using. You may be getting air bubbles in your lather. I would suggest trying to face lather for a change of pace. Apply a large pea-size amount to the damp face and lather up with a damp brush. Add water a little bit at a time.

 

[orki]

For day 1, I used a pea-size piece scooped out and put into the bowl. I'll try it with less water in a regular bowl. Thanks, @Steve56 .

For day 2 and for today, I used the brush to scoop it out of an upside-down CF container. I'll try face lathering, @Atlantic59 .

I tried it with three drops of glycerin, which did not seem to make any difference.

 

[drummer_boy]

I worked through an entire tub. Here are some of my personal observations:

* Great scent profile.

* very narrow window for water addition. Too much and you have runny lather dripping off the chin. Too little and the lather dries out on the face. If the lather was dialed in properly it gave an acceptable shave.

* Hard on the skin. My face always felt dried out after a shave with this cream.

If I had to sum it up, it would be that in my opinion CF is waaay over-hyped, especially considering the premium price.

 

[Bhugo]

I load from the tub and face lather it. I use quite a bit and it yields a great shave every time. Every time I tried to add a lot of water it was too thin and I was not impressed. The scent is one of my favorites.

 

[orki]

Results from 3 more attempts:
1. Bowl lather very carefully in a plain bowl, adding one drop of water at a time: so-so shave, about the same as Godrej red, took too long to get it to the right consistency.
2. Bowl lather very carefully in travel dog bowl with nubs: still too airy/runny. Awful shave.
3. Face lather: much better shave, about the same level as Proraso White, definitely well below all variants of uberlather that I have made. Not sure that CF is worth the premium.
I'll keep experimenting.

 

[MntnMan62]

Based on many glowing reviews over the years I bought two tubs of Castle Forbes. Lime and Lavender. I bowl lather and work slowly to build my lather, adding dribbles of water at a time until I get a nice yogurt consitency with soft peaks and a nice sheen. Even when the lather looks exactly as it is supposed to look, I find my shaves are as orki describes. I get some skipping of the razor at the start of my strokes. I get some weepers. Even nicks. I have found that CF is more hype than anything. I like the scents but I find performance lacking. I'll keep and use the tubs because that's just how I am. I find a way to use everything. But no way is this stuff worth the premium that is charged and I won't buy any more after those two tubs are done. I'll get bashed but I've shaved with both the Lime and Lavender plenty of times with the same repeated and less than positive results. I'm not new to this game. I've been at this since the end of 2015, so I'm no longer questioning my own technique. Now I'm questioning the product. But, like everything shaving, I'll also admit YMMV.